ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. —
(Above video was published on Aug. 10, 2022.)
A group of Upstate Starbucks workers on Monday filed a defamation lawsuit against the company charging that a manager lied in a police report accusing them of kidnapping and assault.
A release from Workers United said eight workers at the Starbucks on Clemson Boulevard in Anderson, including three who "were wrongfully fired," filed the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the company decided to "weaponize the legal process against them," saying it was a coordinated effort by Starbucks upper management and its counsel.
The suit stems from an encounter that happened on Aug. 1 when workers collectively presented a letter of demands to their store manager.
The demands included better working conditions and improved benefits, workers said.
The encounter was recorded on video and posted to social media by SBWorkersUnited, showing the workers standing in front of the manager, who was on the phone while sitting at a table inside the store. The manager, at one point, stands up and walks past one of the workers.
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"Two days later, the store manager filed a false police report accusing the workers of assault and kidnapping," the release said. "Starbucks corporate then issued a public statement reiterating the false accusations," the release stated.
Read more about the police report filed, the company's statements issued...
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